Sometimes a book goes temporarily out of print - and sometimes no audio version has ever been recorded. Audible wants to give you the most complete selection we can and we'll keep adding series and filling in gaps as quickly as possible.

A Murder of Quality (Dramatised)

A Murder of Quality, set in the early 1960s, sees George Smiley investigating a murder in a public school. When the wife of one of the masters is found bludgeoned to death, Smiley, out of loyalty to an old friend, agrees to look into the case. But his investigation raises a multitude of questions. Who could have hated Stella Rode enough to kill her? Why was her dog put down shortly before the murder? And what did Mad Janie see on that fatal night?

I love radio dramatizations

This is a dramatization of the story. I have neither read nor listened to the original story.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Dramatised)

It is 1962: the height of the Cold War and only months after the building of the Berlin Wall. Alec Leamas is a hard-working, hard-drinking British intelligence officer whose East Berlin network is in tatters. His agents are either on the run or dead, victims of the ruthlessly efficient East German counter-intelligence officer Hans-Dieter Mundt.

Brian Cox is great but...

THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD is such a great story that it's hard to make a bad version of it. This one is good, but it's just good. It's been a..Show More » little while since I read the book, but it seems they throw more Smiley into the story just to have more of him. Yeah, I realize the point is to tell the whole Smiley saga, but he wasn't a huge part of this story until this telling. Mr. Russel Beale is fine as Smiley, but this story is about Alec Leamus, and Brian Cox is wonderful.
My biggest beef with this production is that it wasn't needed. The BBC did a great adaptation with Colin Blakely which was commercially available until recently. That version maintained the mystery within the story better and didn't need a summation at the end explaining exactly what happened in case we didn't get it. I know there's an opinion out there, usually among younger people, that if something is more than 10 years old it should be redone because we can do it better now. This just isn't the case- not for THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, not for TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY, and from what I've heard so far, SMILEY'S PEOPLE. Newer isn't better. Just newer.
Will this version do in a pinch? Of course, it's a fine production. And more than likely you won't be able to find the older version anyway. Too bad.
As I've said, Brian Cox is wonderful in this. If nothing else listen for him.

The Looking Glass War (Dramatised)

When word reaches 'The Department' - an ailing section of British intelligence - that Soviet missiles are being installed close to the West German border, it seems the perfect opportunity to show Control and Smiley, their rivals over at the Circus, that The Department still has value. Former spy Fred Leiser is lured back from retirement to investigate, and manages to cross the border into East Germany in a dangerous night-time operation.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Dramatised)

Smiley, wrestling with retirement and disillusionment, is summoned to a secret meeting with a member of the Cabinet Office. Evidence has emerged that the Circus has been infiltrated at the highest level by a Russian agent. 'Find the mole, George. Clean the stables. Do whatever is necessary.' Reluctantly Smiley agrees, and so embarks on a dark journey into his past a past filled with love, duplicity and betrayal.

Atmospheric, powerful production

I have read and listened to different interpretations of John le Carre's work over 20 years this is as good as any previous productions including the ..Show More »those with Bernard Hepton and Alec Guiness. Simon Russell Beale has just the right air of world weariness for George Smiley, Ann his wife's part has been extended beautifully to add context. This production adds to others I have and I shall enjoy it again and again.

The Honourable Schoolboy (Dramatised)

George Smiley has become acting chief of the Circus, but the credibility of the British Secret Service has been shattered. Smiley's adversary is Karla, the Soviet officer who masterminded the Circus's ruin. His battleground is Hong Kong and his choice of weapons is the Honourable Gerald Westerby. A brand new Radio 4 full cast dramatisation of the classic George Smiley novel by John le Carre, starring Simon Russell Beale. This is the sixth in the major new series of all eight George Smiley spy thrillers on radio.

Disappointing

Haven't read or listened to any of le Carre's novels, but did hear a dramatization of a Murder of Quality, which I thought was quite good. In this one..Show More », I found the male voices to be awfully similar and I wasn't always sure who was speaking. Plotwise, I enjoyed the first half, but thought it degenerated into silliness with a ridiculously melodramatic ending. So I can't recommend this dramatization.

Smiley's People (Dramatised)

When a Russian émigré is found murdered on Hampstead Heath, Smiley is called out of retirement to exorcise some Cold War ghosts from his clandestine past. What follows is Smiley the human being at his most vulnerable and Smiley the case officer at his most brilliant; and it takes to a thrilling conclusion his career-long, serpentine battle with the enigmatic and ruthless Russian spymaster Karla.

Excellent modern dramatisation

I have been a keen fan of John Le Carre for a long time, this dramatisation is excellent. It is at the right pace for the story to unfold the actors f..Show More »it their roles as though they were made for them and the device of having the character Ann play an active role in the story shows the other side of Smiley. This is a superb piece of work as are the others in this series, and thanks Audible for making the recordings available so quickly after broadcast.

The Secret Pilgrim (Dramatised)

Simon Russell Beale stars in this BBC Radio full-cast dramatisation of John le Carré’s last Smiley novel.George Smiley is one of the most brilliantly realised characters in British fiction. Bespectacled, tubby, eternally middle-aged and deceptively ordinary, he has a mind like a steel trap and is said to possess ‘the cunning of Satan and the conscience of a virgin'.

Spies, spies, spies. Looking for a good time

Always a good combination: Le Carre and a BBC dramatisation.

Worth a listen. A lot going on, though not the most cohesive Le Carre plot.